Beginning our promotion on recycling pallets we have picked some great projects for you to make, if your up to it! The event runs throughout July 2014 at our shop in Torquay Devon UK TQ26EL, and will feature all of these items and more, for you to buy.

1. Large Single Shelf Unit

This is a really simple idea and quite easy to do, but will take a lot of effort with sanding down the wood. You will need a long light weight pallet strengthened across its width by 4×2 timber instead of the usual blocks.

Superbly simple idea and easy to make, these really useful boxes are made up entirely with the wider 14cm planks stripped from common EU pallets.
Make up a box frame with these 14cm planks but you can use the narrower 7cm ones for the base underneath. To make life easy make sure your box width is divisible by 7cm.
Finish off the box by either cutting handles, or attaching odd things to each end, like horse shoes, as featured in the above picture.

3. Stunning Wall Light

How impressive is this? Customise it to your own decor and taste.
It is made by building a support box frame that fixes to the wall with vanity panels either side to hide the electrics. You can then arrange the differing planks to the front in any design you wish. This must be PAT tested for electrical safety before you install though.

4. Standard Braced Garden Gate

These can be expensive items when bought from any hardware store. This one pictured is a design sold at B&Q for £35 but they can certainly cost up to £150!
This is made using 6 or 7 of the narrower 7cm planks spaced for a standard width of 90cm. You will need extra pieces top and bottom, and another mitred for the bracing.

5. Nestbox: Small House for Small Birds

Great looking garden item for attracting Sparrows and Tits to nest in your garden. I think this is probably the most difficult out of the 5 to make as there are different shapes to cut to make it fit together.

Please visit the website used2bee.com regularly to see new recycled products we add every day. You can also get great ideas for recycled arts and crafts on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/used2bee

Its amazing what difference a day can make…. I mean once i had spent the last 3 months planning, cutting, planing, sanding, painting, designing and agonising over the details!

The preparation and crafting that went into this project was long, but to most people, except my wife and a few friends, it all happened in one day! That day was Thursday 12th December 2013.
We went from an ordinary looking shop that people pass by to one that inspires interest, sparks imagination, and creates excitement. Its best feature for me was Joannes idea: to make the ‘Bee Logo’ wobble in the wind by attaching it to a bed spring!

The morning began when we ripped down the old sign

“was plain,uninspiring, and almost invisible”

We have been in this shop since 2004: at that time we needed an office as our recycling services business was expanding and we didnt need to court passing trade as customers came to us over the phone. We had a corporate sign: it was simple and boring, so when the business changed last year we quickly drew up plans to re-focus our business on retail and make a dramatic change!
Away with a sign that was plain, uninspiring and almost invisible and in would come one that would inspire, and exite!

The sign is made up of 51 cut planks recycled from old pallets, 9 carved letters and logo recycled from old pine furniture, 8 recycled wire stand-off brackets, and a rusty bedspring.

Once the old sign was ripped down to reveal the Tongue and Groove cladding beneath, it was necessary to gloss the timber to help protect from the harsh south westerly weather. We had to use a quick drying one coat paint to give us more time to complete the job in one day.
Taking a starting point at the joint between the front facia and its return over the door, we worked away from this to the far edges for a balanced appearance. Each plank had to be cut down to 550mm to line up with the window frame, and the bare end sealed with varnish. Each piece has different properties of width, shading and grain, so the overall effect when these are mixed is superb.

Years ago i had recycled some industrial fencing wire that I had now used to make the 8 stand-off brackets, lucky that i had kept it! These had to fit each letter exactly so as to make them appear to float and be resistant to the strong winds. These have been coated with Hammerite to protect against rust.

The overall effect is enhanced now that we have also decorated the outside walls of the shop in a tasty Mint Green. This complements the Chocholate Brown, and Rich Berry colours that we use in our shop to promote the Recycled , Organic, and Fairtrade products in the shop (notice the food related thread there!).